ok, more:
1. yoga (did i mention that?)
2. trout fishing in america with the austin symphony
3. ava onstage to see the symphony up close (she strummed a cell0)
4. more swimming, more playgrounds
5. chuy's...mmmmmmmmmmmm
5.5 success in a restaurant with 2 small kids
6. biscuit brothers with the austin symphony
7. ava and carter onstage to see the symphony up close (harp, flute, bass drum -- pounded by carter, gong -- struck by carter, and all of the miscellaneous instrments.
7.5 note to self--need to get carter drums. do they make drums with earphones?
8. terra toys--independent toystore in austin with great products. it took ava nearly an hour to decide which horse she wanted, and eventually she settled on 2 tiny plush animals. fine by me--they are lightweight and can't break....
9. fountain made for kids where the water jumps out of the ground and the kids can run around in it
10. more playgrounds, organic burgers, macrobiotic food, and the farmer's market.
11. art show at an artist's house. fun, but there was a cute little white kitty (named "little white kitty") that captured the kid's attention. paintings and sculptures can't compete with a snuggly cat.
12. some spectacular meltdowns in the evenings. pure exhaustion.
13. the local elementary school spring carnival--the kids scored tons of prizes and finally discovered flav-or-ice. i think they were flabbergasted that something that good actually existed in the world. at least they did not get mad at me for hiding it from them.
14. reading for pleasure. (!)
still left: we need to return to the zoo, kiddie acres, and the children's museum.
austin is such an interesting city. so weird to mix the punked out alternative scene with the texas christian scene.
as for the reading for pleasure, i am reading 'the mommy wars' -- about the apparent battle between stay at home moms and working mothers. more on this later, but all i can say is that i am so so so glad that i don't live in the world of this book where moms hate each other based on their choices to work or not work. (believe me, there are moms who hate each other in the north country, but that has less to do with parenting choices and a lot more to do with the ongoing class warfare between 'locals' and 'outsiders'-- or, less charitably, 'rednecks' and 'elitist snobs'). living in an isolated region is sort of hard at times, but reading this book reminds me that i may be away from a lot of fun/interesting/exciting things, but i am also removed from a lot of the BS too.
that is nice. having choices is great, but sometimes having limited choices is a lot easier. not a lot to agonize over.
